winter 2002
PRISON ISSUE
360 Degrees of Blackness: African-American
History in a Prison Education Program
Jill Paquette............................................1
Education Reintegration at Hampden
County
William R.Toller and Daniel E.
O’Malley...............................................3
Opening Doors: An ESOL Workbook by
Prisoners, for Prisoners
Kristin Sherman..................................... .6
Poems from Prison
Anne Flaherty.........................................7
A Tutor and Learner at the ACI
Janet Isserlis and Jessica Gonzalez............. 8
Reflections from Inside
Arnie King...........................................10
Behind Bars: An Experiment in CrossCultural Training
Kristin Sherman.....................................11
The Voice in The PEN
Rodney Wilson.....................................12
State of the State— Behind Bars: ABE for
the Incarcerated
Bob Bickerton and Jane Brown................ 16
NELRC Notes: Education for Community
Participation
Andy Nash..........................................18
Department of Correction in Massachusetts—
An Overview
Larry Pollard.........................................19
The Right Thing
Maurice Penn.......................................20
Resources on Prisons..............................21
360 Degrees of
Blackness: AfricanAmerican History in a
Prison Education
Program
By Jill Paquette
A
s a first-year teacher in the non-traditional environment of
a prison, I’ve found that my best lessons have been thematically based. I’ve developed interdisciplinary units around the novel
Of Mice and Men, the play A Raisin in the Sun, career/employment issues, twentieth century America, and other topic areas. But
no lesson that I have prepared can top a thematic unit on AfricanAmerican history, one that was developed at the suggestion of a student, curious about his heritage. I developed this unit while teaching
at the Suffolk County House of Corrections in Boston. My students
were men, mostly in their 20s and 30s; who read between a 5th and
6th grade level. “Africa Then, African Now—360 Degrees of
Blackness,” as the project came to be known, had very modest beginnings. My initial aims were to introduce and familiarize students
with a few components of African-American history, including
ancient African civilizations, the Massachusetts 54th Infantry, and
the Harlem Renaissance. Educational objectives prior to beginning
the unit included: highlighting less familiar people and aspects of
black history, improving literacy, enhancing computer literacy, practicing group presentation skills, and improving writing fluency.
Continued on page 5
System for Adult Basic Education Support
Funded by the Massachusetts Department of Education
Field Notes
Foreword
This issue of Field Notes offers insights and information about
adult basic education in one of the most challenging settings—
correctional facilities. The bias is pretty clear: education for
inmates is a powerful tool for transformation; prisoner education
should not be viewed as an add-on, a luxury, or a form of coddling. The perspectives of prisoners in this issue are highlighted
through articles, poems, short reflections, and drawings. We have
also showcased the work of teachers who have found creative,
respectful ways to approach adult basic education in correctional
facilities despite the institutional limitations of the work.
Resource
listings—Web
Sites, curricula,
guides, articles,
and videos—
are included for
a variety of
purposes: to
assist inmates
in the re-entry
process, to
inspire and
inform teachers, and to
enlarge our
understanding
of prison culture. This issue comes at a time when education for
prisoners is more marginalized than ever. Although Adult and
Community Learning Services (ACLS ) at the Department of
Education still funds some programs for inmates, recent massive
cuts from the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC)
budget has eliminated adult basic education programs entirely
from many facilities.
I recently visited a medium security facility to meet with a
long-term inmate and to discuss prison education and other
issues. Just getting through to the visiting room was a lesson in
itself. My reactions to the terse, disrespectful manner of the guards
as they frisked me, refused to answer questions, and reprimanded
me (for having a tear in my jacket pocket) pointed to my naivete
about prison culture. In putting this issue together I was reminded
that most of us in adult basic education know very little about
corrections as an important “service delivery” area for ABE. I hope
that this issue of Field Notes offers a place to get started in filling
in the gaps in our knowledge and understanding.
Lenore Balliro, Editor
2
Field Notes
Mission Statement and
Editorial Policy
Mission
Field Notes is an adult basic education (ABE)
quarterly, theme-based newsletter. It is designed
to share innovative and reliable practices,
resources, and information relating to ABE. We
attempt to publish a range of voices about
important educational issues, and we are especially interested in publishing new writers, writers of color, and writers who represent the full
range of diversity of learners and practitioners
in the field.
Field Notes is also a place to provide support
and encouragement to new and experienced
practitioners (ABE, ESOL, GED, ADP, Family
Literacy, Correction, Workplace Education, and
others) in the process of writing about their
ideas and practice. Editorial support is always
provided to any writer who requests it.
Teachers, administrators, counselors, volunteers, and support staff are welcome to write
for Field Notes.
Our Funder
Field Notes is published by the System for Adult
Basic Educational Support (SABES) and funded
by Adult and Community Learning Services
(ACLS), Massachusetts Department of
Education. The Central Resource Center (CRC)
of SABES is located at 44 Farnsworth Street,
Boston, MA 02210.
Our Editorial Policy
Unsolicited manuscripts to Field Notes are welcome. If you have an idea for an article or wish
to submit a letter to the editor, contact Lenore
Balliro, editor, by phone at 617-482-9485, by
email at <lballiro2000@yahoo.com>, or by
mail at 44 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA
02210. Submission deadlines for upcoming
issues are published in each issue of Field
Notes.
Opinions expressed in Field Notes are those of
the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
opinion of the editor, SABES, or its funders. We
do reserve the right to decline publication. We
will not publish material that is sexist, homophobic, or otherwise discriminatory.
Our Reprint Policy
Articles published in Field Notes may be
reprinted in any publication as long as they
are credited to the author and Field Notes.
Field Notes Advisory Board
Susan Arase, Susan Hershey, Tom Lynch,
Michele Sedor, Sarah Wagner, Lynne Weintraub
Editor:
Layout:
Proofreading:
Lenore Balliro
Heather Brack
Deb Liehs
Lou Wollrab
winter 2002
Field Notes
Education Reintegration at
Hampden County
By William R. Toller and Daniel E. O’Malley
A
t the Hampden County
Sheriff’s Department, in
Ludlow, Massachusetts, we
have been focused on preparing our
inmate population to become
responsible citizens since 1975.
With over 80 percent of our inmate
population high school dropouts
and lacking vocational skills, the
need for correctional education was
readily apparent when we moved
from the old York Street Jail, built
in 1886, to Ludlow, in 1992.
Correctional programs had significantly helped us in managing our
record overcrowding numbers,
which hit 726 inmates in 1985 in
space designed for 256 inmates.
From 1976 to 1992, over 1,759
inmates had achieved their high
school equivalency diploma; 2,000
inmates had been placed in unsubsidized employment as a result of
vocational training; and over 1,000
inmates had received substance
abuse treatment at our correctional
alcohol program in Springfield.
As we began our education
efforts at our new facility in Ludlow
in 1992, our ABE program grew
quickly from an average daily attendance of 75 students at York Street
to over 250 students by 1993. As
our education staff utilized the
SABES staff and program development process each year, we identified a pressing need for our correctional education efforts: a reintegration counselor to assist students
in the next step, completing their
educational goals in communitybased programs. With the assistance of a VISTA volunteer, we contacted the Center for Crime,
winter 2002
Communities, and Cultures in 1997
and secured a $150,000 grant to
fund an education reintegration
model for two and a half years.
The Education
Reintegration Model
Dan O’Malley was hired as our
education reintegration counselor
under the Crime, Communities,
and Culture grant in February 1998.
The purpose of the grant was to
transition inmates from educational courses of study at the facility to
community-based adult education
programs, including college level
programs of instruction. The original grant also required the educa tion reintegration counselor to provide vocational and career guidance
to inmates. The position has
required the following:
◆ an extensive knowledge of academic, career, and occupational professions available to high
school graduates, GED recipients, and college level students;
◆ extensive knowledge base of
the community-based adult
programs available to released
inmates;
◆ the ability to develop and
implement programs of study
that allow for the realistic
attainment of each participant’s educational goals and
career objectives;
◆ the demonstrated ability to
provide educational and occupational guidance consistent
with each participant’s academic abilities and career
objectives;
◆
an extensive knowledge of all
aspects of federal student aid
(FAFSA).
The follow-up aspect of the
program provides participants with
counseling to continue with their
chosen course of study and also
provides educational advocacy for
each client. The average student in
our program is a young Hispanic
male from Springfield, around 22
years old, with a record of sub stance abuse and prior arrests.
Follow-up is key to achieving success once released.
At the onset of the program,
Dan met with over 25 communitybased adult education programs to
explain the education reintegration
program to the providers, make
introductions, and assess the compatibility of the community-based
programs with our facility’s education program At a series of internal
meetings, Dan also explained the
education reintegration program to
the teaching staff and sought support for effective teacher input into
the reintegration process.
Support from Teachers
The teaching staff was overwhelmingly supportive of the reintegration concept and began to
make immediate referrals for those
inmates who were about to be
released from the facility. Dan also
began a series of meetings with
currently incarcerated inmates to
explain the education reintegration
model.
Continued on page 4
3
Field Notes
Education Reintegration...
Continued from page 3
Outcomes
Prior to the incorporation of
the education reintegration model
at the Hampden Sheriff’s Department, only 30 percent of inmates
indicated a desire to continue with
formalized education upon release.
Now, after five years of education
reintegration services, almost 75
percent of inmates express a direct
interest in furthering their educa tion upon release from custody.
Ceremonies
On a monthly basis, the
Hampden Sheriff’s Department
holds a “Student of the Month” cer emony to recognize a student who
has demonstrated academic and
social improvement. At each ceremony, Dan speaks to the students
and explains the educational
opportunities that are available
upon release. Students are encour aged to continue with their studies
when released and are advised to
call Dan to arrange for educational
placement in the community. Dan
has also arranged for communitybased adult education providers to
come into the facility and explain
their education programs to the
inmates at the “Student of the
Month” ceremony. Local community colleges and local ABE providers have now participated in our
“Student of the Month” ceremony.
Snapshot
The operation of the education
reintegration program can be best
illustrated by an actual example:
Darnell H. received a lengthy sentence to the Hampden County
House of Correction. While incarcerated, Darnell obtained his GED
and then began a post-secondary
studies at the facility offered by a
4
local community college. After
accumulating a number of college
credits and having served his complete sentence, Darnell was
released. Prior to his release,
Darnell met with Dan where he
received a number of services to
help ensure his acceptance into a
community college and the successful continuation of his education. For example, Darnell’s financial aid (FAFSA) was processed over
the Internet; his transfer credits
were incorporated into his college
transcripts; he received an
appointment for long-term academic/placement counseling at the
college. He is scheduled to start his
college work in fall 2002 and is
expected to graduate in 2003.
The actual mechanics of the
education reintegration program
are closely linked with the overall
Hampden County Sheriff’s “After
Incarceration Support Services”
Department (AISS). Prior to
release, every inmate at the
Hampden County Sheriff’s
Department develops a detailed
release plan that addresses issues
such as housing, mental health,
substance abuse, and education. At
the release planning groups, every
inmate who expresses an interest in
continuing with education meets
individually with the education reintegration counselor and a followup plan is developed.
Mentors and Follow-up
Once a released inmate calls
for an outside education appoint ment, the education reintegration
counselor schedules the appointment, usually right at the adult education program, and the inmate
enrolls in school. A mentor, an
employee of the Hampden Sheriff’s
Department and former inmate,
periodically checks with the
released inmate to see how things
are going. The mentor provides a
key role in the success of the
released inmate (now a student) by
acting as a transitional figure
between the student and the reintegration counselor. If the student
stops attending school or needs
additional support, the mentor can
help follow through to make sure
adequate support is provided.
What the Research Shows
Education programs do dramatically reduce recidivism as a
recent Correctional Education
Association staff survey and our
research clearly show . Our overall
recidivism rate for inmates who
have been released for two years or
more since 1999 is approximately
22 percent; our recidivism rate for
those who have successfully participated in education programs is less
than 12 percent. Our challenge as
correctional educators is to continually develop the lifelong learning
concept with our students and to
help them take that next step by
enrolling in adult basic education
programs in our communities.
William R. Toller is assistant superintendent of human services at the
Hampden County Correctional Center
in Ludlow, where he has been
employed since 1976. He can be
reached by email at <Bill.Toller@
SDH.State.Ma.Us>.
Daniel E. O’Malley is the education
reintegration counselor at the
Hampden County Correctional Center.
He can be reached at <random21@
aol.com>.
winter 2002
Field Notes
360 Degrees...
Continued from page 1
Little did I know at that time how
much more this would actually
involve and include.
By the time John Coltrane’s
saxophone faded out and the director yelled “Cut!,” our ‘‘little’’ proj ect was close to two months in the
works. We began with a mini-lesson on Nubian and Egyptian cultures in which students teamed up
to tackle a single area of the ancient
cultures, for example: family life,
religion, contributions to society,
and related topics. Each group was
required to read and understand its
piece, summarize it, then jointly
present the newly discovered information to the rest of the class. Lack
of preparedness by some of the
presenters and difficulty of material caused this part to drag a little.
After that section we spent some
time looking at the state of Africa
today. Geographics, demographics,
economics, and other areas were
presented with the help of some
excellent overhead transparencies,
which helped to spark student
interest. From there we jumped
ahead to the Civil War era and the
Massachusetts 54th Infantry’s distinguished role in history. We dove
into facts and stats, as well as personal narratives from those who
were there. It was around this time
that I realized that something special was about to happen.
Taking a Back Seat to
Students
I decided to take a back seat
and allow the students to steer our
next course. We held a group meeting in which I told the class that I
wanted to put together a comprehensive class project presenting all
our new information. I would supply all the resources and assistance
winter 2002
needed, but they were responsible
for collectively deciding what that
project would be, and how to get it
from conception to completion. We
bounced around many ideas before
deciding on constructing a largescale timeline that would wrap
around the classroom and present
articles, pictures, and other information about each piece that we
covered. We designated two student
project leaders who would coordinate and direct the massive project.
We increased the caseload to
include the transatlantic slave
trade, slavery in America, the Civil
Rights movement, and AfricanAmericans today. It was as if our
team captain yelled “break,” the
huddle dispersed, and each player
set off to do his job. Some navigated their way through Encarta
Africana, an unbelievably resourceful computerized encyclopedia of
Africana. Others dove into textbooks and other printed resources.
Still others viewed video libraries
during the research portion of the
project.
poetry and art created solely by
African-Americans, and listen to
the smooth sounds of Coltrane,
Armstrong, and other jazz greats.
We even invited guests to sit and
further explore any related areas of
interest to them. This followed a
15-minute oratory/theatrical walk
through history, which verbally
highlighted our educational journey, narrated by the “experts” that
had researched and prepared that
section. This piece was entirely
arranged by my students, who
caught me by surprise when they
handed me my script, detailing the
lives of a few outstanding black
women. All in all it was a multimedia event that left us with an
engaged audience, a wealth of
information, swelling pride, unbelievable camaraderie, and a standing ovation. One staff member, our
librarian and a Congolese native,
was so impressed that he encouraged us to videotape the presentation as a permanent documentation
to have and show in our institutional library.
Mini-Museum and
Celebration
Unexpected Outcomes
Our timeline was literally
bursting at the seams. So much so
that it actually more closely resembled a mini-museum. Our small
cinder-block classroom was transformed into a home of tribute to
African history and to my students‘
vision and perseverance. I arrogantly decided that the museu m
wasn’t enough. I wanted to share,
celebrate, and show off our work.
Nearing the end of our project, I
informed the class that we were
going to host a party, an open house
that would allow other interested
students and staff to view the layout
of actual sardine-packed slave
ships, read documents and journal
entries, skim through volumes of
What started as a less than adequately developed lesson ended as a
source of knowledge, pride, and
development for my ABE students.
Each and every member contributed:
reluctant writers completed essays,
less than artistic individuals
designed and colored murals, and
computer-phobes navigated CDROMs. During this time, my class
attendance and size multiplied and
students excelled in working both
independently and cooperatively.
Most importantly, this group
gained a valuable sense of pride in
themselves. The project exceeded
the expectations of even the most
optimistic in the group.
Continued on page 9
5
Field Notes
Opening Doors: An ESOL Workbook
By Prisoners, for Prisoners
By Kristin Sherman
O
pening Doors is a workbook geared toward intermediate and advanced learners of ESOL, especially learners representing marginalized populations.
What is unique about this book is the collaborative
process that produced it. The idea for the workbook
arose from the stories that learners in my ESOL classes
at the Mecklenburg County Jail (in Charlotte, North
Carolina) were writing. Two years ago, Luis Rodriguez, a
Chicano poet and the author of Always Running, gave a
writing workshop to the ESOL students in the jail. The
students responded so well that I asked other writers in
the Charlotte community if they would be interested in
working with the students on their writing. Irania
Patterson of the Public Library of CharlotteMecklenburg County and Dannye Romine Powell, a
columnist for the Charlotte Observer, also came out and
taught the students about storytelling and poetry. Some
of the writing generated from those early workshops
appears in this workbook.
The Students
Many of the students had less than six years of education, and some could barely read in any language.
While some students had worked for years in restaurants or in construction, others had no work experience
at all. I thought that publishing their writing would
encourage them to value literacy more and begin to
identify themselves in a new way— as writers. Because
of the relatively low level of literacy and English proficiency of some of the students, I wanted to include oral
histories and illustrations, and so allow all students to
express themselves in a way they felt comfortable and
competent. I approached Frances Hawthorne, an artist
and art instructor with extensive experience in community art, to offer art classes to the ESOL students.
The illustrations on the cover and throughout the book
are the result of the nine months of instruction the students received.
Gradually, the book grew from a way for the ESOL
learners to express themselves to a way that those
learners could help other ESOL learners. We decided
to use their writings to help teach English by creating
an instructional workbook. We wanted the writings to
represent a range of genres and difficulty, so we asked
6
already-published writers if they wanted to contribute.
Overwhelmingly, the larger writing community
responded. The students selected the poems, stories,
and memoirs by Julia Alvarez, Sandra Cisneros,
Nicholasa Mohr, Pat Mora, Leroy V. Quintana, and Luis
Rodriguez that are included in the workbook.
Writing and Artwork
In addition to the weekly art classes, we added a
writing class to generate enough writing to include in a
full-length workbook. All the students in the writing
class were either second language learners or bilingual,
and were also in the art class. Many assignments linked
the writing and the artwork. Because we also wanted
the students to acquire real skills, we included them in
as much of the creation of the book as possible, so in
addition to the writing, the illustration, and the selection of outside work, students helped edit, practiced
lesson material, and designed layout.
One comment: The students were eager to be part
of the project and to contribute whatever they could. In
this community, the students often rely on each other to
get what they need. The line between help and outright
cheating is often blurred. Some of the stories in this
book were written with varying degrees of help. Some
of the illustrations include images “borrowed” from
existent art, images that somehow speak to the student.
As far as we know, nothing in this book has been copied
wholesale.
Design of the Units
In general, the units allow the learner to replicate
the process that our students went through, moving
from a common base of knowledge and language presented in context, through structured practice to a freer
expression of the learner’s own experience. The units
usually move from easier material to more difficult
material. More advanced learners may be able to use
the entire unit, whereas intermediate learners may
need much more help from the instructor.
A few copies of Opening Doors are
still available, free of charge. Contact Kristin
Sherman at <kristin.sherman@cpcc.edu>.
winter 2002
Field Notes
Poems from Prison
By Anne Flaherty
Walk a Mile in My Shoes
Walk a mile in my shoes
Walk a mile in my shoes
Before you go and judge me,
Before you get to choose
If you can label and begrudge me,
Just try these suckers on
And, walk a mile in my shoes
Well, did you ever raise a family by yourself
Without alimony, child support or any help?
Did you have to hear
Maybe he’ll pay up next year?
Just put all your wants and needs on a shelf.
Well, mister?
(chorus)
Have you ever seen the wide eyes of your child
When he hasn’t seen his Daddy for awhile?
And, he wants a brand new bike,
Go ahead honey, pick out the one you like.
And you want to see that grateful little smile?
Well, Missy?
(chorus)
And, when the wolf comes a-knockin’ at your door and
Tells you, “You can’t live here anymore.”
Do you pack your bags and shuffle down the street,
Or do you bend the rules a little
And, get back on your feet?
Well, ain’t life sweet?
Walk a mile in my shoes
Walk a mile in my shoes
Come on, it’s not above you,
Don’t make me have to shove you.
Just try singing the mother’s blues.
And walk a mile in my shoes.
Walk a mile in my shoes.
If you’ve got something to prove,
Walk a mile in my shoes.
Life Locked
Oh well I’m
Multiply conflicted
Multiply convicted
Of criminal felonies
Thrown into this prison
Wasn’t my decision
No sex and no kizzin
Oh, how celibacy fell on me.
Stripped of all possessions
Stripped of all obsessions
Stripped of all concessions
I’ve clung to all my life
Building up my what-abouts
Sizing up my where-abouts
Of woe, mischief and strife
Letting go of old stuff
Letting go of cold bluff
Hoping that I get enough
Of love to see me through
Getting what I earned
Getting what I should have learned
Getting all the twists and turns
Getting straight the plans for me and you
Oh, cuz I’m life locked
Oh, and I’m shell shocked
Oh, and I’m defrocked and re-mocked
And you might think it strange
That this girl, is ready for a change. . .
Anne Flaherty is a singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and founder of Social Justice Today. By the time that this issue of
Field Notes is published, Anne will be at a pre-release work program. She can be reached at <SJT2003@earthlink.net>.
winter 2002
7
Field Notes
A Tutor and Learner at the ACI
By Janet Isserlis and Jessica González
I
n the fall of 1999, while
examining the impacts of
violence and trauma on learning, I started working as a tutor at
the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institution (ACI) with Jessica
González, a bright young woman
then preparing for the GED test.
From Jessica and Susan, (another
woman I had tutored), I learned
about their learning and, over time,
about how violence and non-violence have shaped them as women,
and learners.
To write this article about
teaching and learning in prison,
Jess and I worked together at my
laptop.
Janet: Working in prison is, in
many ways, like working with adult
learners anywhere–women want to
learn, earn a GED, read the Bible,
speak and understand English,
learn algebra. Interactions between
and among learners and teachers
look much like those interactions
anywhere. Stepping back, though,
there are differences. Materials
cannot just be brought in–someone
in the prison must approve them; I
can’t just give Jessica a pen–someone has to OK that, too. We can’t
phone each other directly; I can’t
send her anything computer generated; if we want a book, it has to be
sent from Amazon or another mail
order company. What we are able
to do is work on writing about topics that are important to Jessica.
We are able to work on my laptop;
Jessica taught herself and me how
to develop PowerPoint presentations; she and Susan have also
practiced typing and refined their
skills using word processing software.
8
Jess: Tutoring is not only
important to me but it is also fun, I
see it as a way of learning my way
and not having to learn by someone
else’s time. The most valuable thing
about having a tutor is the time
she/he, in this case Janet, takes out
to help me with my writing skills
and so many other things.
study. Sometimes I feel like I’ve
brought the laptop for a play date as
she explores software; other times,
like today, as we write this piece
together, we’re both stretched and
engaged in the task before us.
Jess: One of the things I have
learned to work with in the time
I’ve spent with Janet is how to use
Working in prison is, in many ways,
like working with adult learners anywhere – women want to learn, earn a
GED, read the Bible, speak and
understand English, learn algebra.
When we first started, I was
thinking, “another tutor that I will
probably be booting out in another
few weeks.” Janet was different —
she didn’t push me, she let me take
my time, and she wasn’t a critic
about how I did things. And if I
messed up, she wasn’t saying, “Oh,
try harder,” she just encouraged me
to do better next time. She’s not
always so serious about things.
Janet: I’ve had the luxury of
supporting Jess’s learning as best I
can. Because I’m only here once a
week, I am aware of the other ongoing courses and learning that Jess is
engaged in, but I also have the privilege of moving as slowly or quickly
as we determine so that Jess has
some control over her learning.
For a while last spring we worked
together on her telecourse on
finance; still for the most part we
have some leeway in determining
each week, what and how we want to
PowerPoint, explore it, use the
graphics and sounds. I have made
personal presentations in order to
learn how to use the software. In
addition I have completed a
Community College of Rhode Island
(CCRI) course in personal finance
and I’m still working on completing
my GED. Also this coming semester
I will enroll in another college
course, General Sociology, if it is
offered here at the ACI.
Janet: One of my frustrations
in working within the prison system is that inmates are not allowed
Internet access. If Jess’s course
isn’t offered for example, in any
other context, we would look for
alternatives—including online
courses. This is not an option here.
The system does not allow for individualized learning through the
Internet. While the reasons for
Continued on page 9
winter 2002
Field Notes
A Tutor and Learner...
Continued from page 8
barring inmates online access have
some merit, it’s hard to imagine
that alternatives can’t be sought. I
would like to believe that as technology advances further, we might
find ways to afford access to learning tools on the internet to women
and men who otherwise are limited
in their access to current learning
materials. I am also aware of the
resources that are available to
learners at the ACI—a computer lab
(not online), a library, GED and
other learning texts, dedicated and
capable educators.
Jess: I hope that in some way all
of this makes a difference; there are
people like myself in the ACI who
really want to learn. Just because I
am in here and I am considered a
criminal or someone who broke the
law doesn’t mean I am stupid and I
should be limited only to materials
that can help me become a better
person in society. I am not just
saying this to put one picture in
your mind; books are good (and my
reading is not limited only to
behavior-related texts). However, if
I had more access to materials, I’m
sure when my release date comes I
will have a better chance of defending myself in a world as fast as the
one you all live in today.
Janet Isserlis, project director of
Literacy Resources/RI, has worked
with adult learners and educators
since 1980, in school, communitybased, workplace, and other settings.
Jessica González is a 20 year-old
Latina, who has been incarcerated
since 1996. She has been working on
her education and is also interested in
computer engineering, art, and design.
winter 2002
New England ABE-toCollege Transition Project
By Jessica Spohn
Research establishes the need for ongoing education for the exoffender. Levels of educational attainment are directly correlated with
an ex-offender’s ability to stay out of jail. However, access to and persistence in education, especially post-secondary education, is the last
issue to be addressed as the ex-offender plans for and enters the reentry process.
The New England ABE-to-College Transition Project is a partnership between the New England Literacy Resource Center (NELRC) at
World Education and 23 adult learning centers in six New England
states. The project is funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation.
The goal of the project is to build program capacity and create opportunities for adult literacy program graduates to prepare for, enter, and
succeed in post-secondary education so as to help them improve and
enrich their own and their families’ lives.
Currently, two of the ABE-to-College Transition programs are
housed in correctional facilities: Norfolk County House of Correction
in Dedham, Massachusetts, and Webster Correctional Facility in
Cheshire, Conneticut. The ABE-to-College Transition program at
Webster Correctional Facility works with Gateway Community College
in New Haven, Conneticut. The ABE-to-College Transition program
at Norfolk County House of Corrections works very closely with three
community colleges: Massasoit, Massbay, and Quincy. The teachers in
the program are also instructors at the colleges. The program is now in
it’s second cycle. Students from the first cycle have successfully completed the program, left incarceration, and are enrolled at all of the
collaborating colleges.
For more information on the ABE-to-College Transition Project, please
contact Jessica Spohn, <jspohn@worlded.org> or visit the project Web site at
<<www.collegetransition.org>.
Continued from page 5
are still fresh and clear in my mind.
And if you asked any of them, I bet
they’d say the same.
Since then, the construction
paper backgrounds have faded,
most of the students have left the
institution, and the museum has
long since come down. However,
the memories of this amazing
experiment in adult education and
the possibilities and precedents
that were achieved in the process
Jill Paquette worked as a reading
teacher at the Suffolk County House of
Corrections and was an outstanding
softball pitcher for Stonehill College in
2001–2002. She has recently left
teaching and plans to pursue a master’s degree, specializing in learning
disabilities and multiple intelligences.
360 Degrees...
9
Field Notes
Reflections from Inside
By Arnie King
I
dropped out of high school at 17, shot and killed
an innocent man at 18, and entered Walpole State
Prison at 19, barely avoiding the death penalty. I
try each and every day to do something that communicates remorse and to make atonement for the life I took.
In a few months, I will honor my 50th birthday with
several family members in the prison visiting room,
driving orange juice and sharing microwave popcorn.
Prison life sucks! Work details in prison consist of
janitorial tasks, kitchen assignments, maintenance,
and industry factories. Most jobs pay one-to-two dollars each day and unemployment is always quite high in
the Massachusetts prison system. The actual work is
often menial and requires very little skill to perform.
Therefore, I have concentrated on academic studies
and rehabilitative programming during
this incarceration period of thirty-plus
years.
One of my earliest, though most
significant and meaningful, prison jobs
was assistant teacher in the ABE program during the mid-seventies. Walpole
Prison was very chaotic and violent,
with daily assaults and monthly murders. The school area was a relatively
safe environment and the ABE director,
Mel Springer, hired me to work with
older adult prisoners. I was about 24
years old, with a GED and a few college courses,
instructing men in areas of the numbering system, as
well as learning the alphabet. Some days were consumed with assisting in reading or responding to a letter from a family member, or being able to fill out an
institution form requesting medical services.
Education is so very important for individuals to
adequately function in our society. Without the fundamentals, it’s clear that one is destined to be unsuccessful. The majority of prisoners enter the “big house”
without a GED or diploma. In fact, a large percentage
have never been to high school. The adult student in
prison must face a major issue of low self-esteem. Am I
capable of learning? Why should I? Responses to such
questions will emerge after the learning process has
gained momentum and short-term goals are accomplished. The world expands beyond the 6x9 cell as one
increases understanding of the environment outside it.
10
It has become evident to me that authentic rehabilitation will not occur without including education in the
formula.
I continued to work in prison education at Walpole,
Norfolk, and Bridgewater, where I discovered the
rewards of helping others. It became apparent that
there were fundamental changes in the lives of the
prisoner/students, due to the application of basic education principles. Another important lesson for me was
to acknowledge the need for academic education in my
life. Teaching others required that I pursue advanced
courses and be a positive example. In 1983, I received
an associate’s degree in business, and Boston
University awarded me a bachelor’s in liberal studies
(1986) and a master’s degree in liberal arts (1990).
Although I have been accepted in postgraduate programs, Union Institute (1992)
and U/Mass–Boston (1999), the wall of
prison bureaucracy has prevented further
advancement.
Despite much success, ABE, GED,
ESL, and other academic programs are a
very low priority in the prison system. It is
more typical for one to receive tutorial
assistance from another prisoner in an
informal way than from within a structured
classroom setting. A great percentage of
prisoners are eventually released without
adequate skills to function in the community as lawabiding citizens. The challenge is to prepare the prisoner for release while incarcerated by providing the
tools and the ability to use them. How can it happen?
There are over 100 “lifers” in the Massachusetts prison
system with Boston University degrees. A suggestion is
to provide training workshops to transform graduates
into peer educators to promote the ABE, GED, and ESL
programs. Then, with a little innovation and opportunity, men convicted of murder will be able to offer a
humanitarian gesture to society and to other human
beings from the cell block. More importantly, men will
be returning to the community less hostile and more
inclined to contribute toward the neighborhood.
Arnie King can be reached by mail at Bay State Center, Box
73, Norfolk, MA 02056. He may also be reached via email at
<throughbarbedwire@yahoo.com> or visit his Web site at
<www.bettercommunities.net/throughbarbedwire.htm>.
winter 2002
Field Notes
Behind Bars: An Experiment in
CrossCultural Training
By Kristin Sherman
B
uenos tardes, me llamo
Francisco Martinez, y yo soy
de Mexico. Good afternoon, my
name is Francisco Martinez, and I
am from Mexico.
Like many of my students in
the jail, this student had an alias.
All the jail records listed him as
Manuel Rodriguez. With these
words of introduction, he claimed
his true name, and began his part
of the presentation. We were giving a workshop on Latino culture to
new detention officers who would,
within a couple of weeks, begin
their jobs supervising these very
same Latino inmates.
I teach ESOL to an intermediate class at Mecklenburg County
Jail in Charlotte, North Carolina.
My students are all Hispanic.
About two-thirds are facing serious time on federal charges. They
represent different countries, levels of education, and degrees of
acculturation.
The idea for the training on
Latino culture for detention officers at the Mecklenburg County
Jail was born a couple of years ago.
Students in my ESL class had been
experiencing conflict with other
inmates and with officers, and felt
that much of this conflict had arisen because officers knew nothing
about Latino culture. The students
submitted a petition asking for
such training. At the time, I was
working on a project in collaboration with Literacy South, in which I
was trying to develop lesson ideas
that would help ESL students learn
to navigate systems. The officer
training seemed like an ideal proj-
winter 2002
ect to meet both the students’ needs
and my own. I suggested the students “put their money where their
mouths were”–that they develop a
workshop/presentation that could
be used to train officers.
Preparing for the Training
As a class, we read books and
downloaded articles from the
Internet to learn about differences
between Latino and Anglo cultures.
We watched the movie Fools Rush In,
which was surprisingly useful in its
depiction of the contrast between
the two cultures. The students
ed their material to several different classes of new officers.
Over the following year, both
officers and inmates “turned over.”
I had a whole new cast of characters
in my class, and all of the officers in
command positions were new. The
trainings were discontinued when a
new training officer took over.
What hadn’t changed was the conflict between Latinos and the other
ethnic groups. Another incident
propelled a student into approaching me about the lack of training
the officers received in dealing with
Latino inmates. One pod supervi-
One pod supervisor continually called
the Latino inmates “Pancho,” while
other non-Latino inmates were
addressed respectfully by Mister and
their last names.
developed a description of Latino
culture that they felt was authentic.
They also translated phrases that
were specific to the jail environment into Spanish. Finally, they
came up with concrete suggestions.
Meanwhile, I began lengthy negotiations to persuade the command
structure and training officers to
allow the training. I was able to get
the training approved, but I had to
deliver it. There were too many
obstacles, including security issues,
to permit the students to give the
training themselves. So, I present-
sor continually called the Latino
inmates “Pancho,” while other,
non-Latino inmates were
addressed respectfully by Mister
and their last names. I told the student that we had such a presentation, developed by students, but it
hadn’t been done in a long time.
After that class, I approached one of
the captains and the new training
officer. Both agreed not only that
the training could be done, but also
that students could do it.
Continued on page 15
11
Field Notes
The Voice in The Pen
By Rodney Wilson
F
or nearly two decades, inmates at the Hampden County Jail and House of Correction have contributed to lit
erary and artistic newsletters published by the education department. Although the publications have evolved
and changed names more than once (Behind the Walls became Tutor Talk became The Pen), the purpose has
always been to provide an opportunity for inmate-students to see their writing in print, including poems,
essays, letters, movie reviews, and articles, with other inmates and staff.
In The Pen, students write of their trials, tribulations, hopes, dreams, frustrations, and fears. They write about
their parents, their children, their shortcomings, and their struggles with addiction and anger. Students also contribute impressive artwork. Shortly after September 11, a cover drawing (“One Nation Equal”) of an American eagle
with one tear streaming down its face as its wings embraced the Twin Towers and Pentagon paid homage to those
lost in the attacks. Another powerful cover art was that of a mother sitting beside a river gently bathing her newborn
son (“Mother Bathing Son,” September 2000).
A regular feature of The Pen is “Trivia Time,” which prompts students to make a dash for reference works in
search of answers to somewhat obscure questions (Example: Where, in March 1946, did Winston Churchill deliver
his famous “Iron Curtain” speech?*). The Pen also is a vehicle to publicize students who complete their GED at the
Hampden Sheriff’s Department (just over 3,200 at last count), and those men and women who earn recognition as
students of the month.
*As a guest of President Truman at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.
Rodney Wilson began his teaching career at a St. Louis high school in 1990. He has served as Title I teacher at the Hampden
County Jail and House of Correction since November 1999.
Turn to page 14 to read more excerpts from The Pen!
12
winter 2002
Field Notes
Coming Home: A Resource Directory for
Ex-Offenders Returning to Greater Boston
Communities
Published by: Prisoners Re-entry Working Group
Coming Home is a compilation of over 300 agencies, organizations, churches, and individuals that can provide assistance and information to ex-offenders. The data on each listing includes name, address, telephone/fax numbers,
Web site, services provided, office hours, requirements, cost, languages spoken on the site, and public transportation information.
The purpose of this directory is to provide ex-offenders from prison returning to the Boston community with useful
information in a useable format so they may know where to go for help in overcoming whatever barriers to gainful
employment, education, housing, and other services that may be in their way.
It should be useful to agencies and individuals assisting ex-offenders as well as ex-offenders themselves, prisoners
developing post-release plans, and prison staff assisting them.
ORDER FORM
Coming Home: A Resource Directory for Ex-Offenders Returning to Greater Boston Communities
Name
Agency/Organization
Mailing Address
Telephone
Fax
Email
Web site
Donation:
Please check appropriate place.
$20.00 if Directory is picked up:
(See below for pick up information.)
$25.00 if you want the Directory mailed:
Number of Directories:
Amount enclosed:
Make checks payable to: Community Change, Inc.—Directory. Send checks to: Prisoner’s Reentry Working Group,
c/o Community Change, Inc., 14 Beacon Street, Room 605, Boston, MA, 02108. Donations must be received before
Directory is mailed or picked up. To order by phone to arrange to pick up a Directory, contact Carol Streiff by phone
at 617-236-1808 or by email at <csstreiff@ix.netcom.com>.
winter 2002
13
Field Notes
Excerpts from The Pen*
Third Time’s a Charm
By José Colón
Change by Christian Alvarez
Behind the Walls
By Raymond Cordero
(Translated by Oscar Chaverri)
Incarceration is the punishment one pays for
violating an established law. Incarceration separates
individuals from society to keep them from violating more of its laws. Incarceration could be the
greatest humiliation for a human being, but it could
also be the best reason to change and become somebody useful in society.
Incarceration helps a lot of people to change
their lives completely from negative to positive attitudes. It also helps many people learn habits necessary to avoid ever returning to prison. Other people,
unfortunately, decide not to change and fall back to
the vicious cycle that brought them to prison in the
first place.
We have to realize that we are powerless to resolve our problems as they occur outside the prison.
However, we are not powerless to equip ourselves
with the tools necessary to effectively and lawfully
deal with life once we are enjoying freedom. Incarceration must have such an effect for us to understand the value of freedom and to avoid returning
back “behind the walls.”
Truly, we determine our destiny when we take
advantage of (or don’t take advantage of) opportunities available to us in life.
This was my last chance up at bat. I already had two
strikes against me. But this time, on the final pitch, I hit a
homerun.
What I mean by this is that I tried the BLT (Basic
Lifeskills Training) Program twice before and failed. For me,
the third time was a charm. Finally, I completed BLT with the
group called “The Chosen Ones.”
Our motto was “They choose to lose. We choose to win.”
I, too, decided to win because I was tired of losing, and I
wanted to change my way of living.
During the six weeks of nonstop hard work—physical
training and programming—I pulled myself together and I
realized that I had to change. I know that changing isn’t easy,
but anything is possible. A person just has to believe in himself and think positively, and be a leader and not a follower.
For those who think that change is hard, you are right, it
is. But take this as an example, and when you fail something,
go back and try again. Don’t quit, because quitters never win
and winners never quit. Be positive and believe in yourself,
and I guarantee that you’ll make it in life. Always remember
that we are only as strong as our weakest link, and the third
time can be a charm.
Freedom by Christian Alvarez
* The Pen is the literary newsletter of Hampden County Jail and House of Correction.
14
winter 2002
Field Notes
Behind Bars...
Continued from page 11
At the next class, I recruited
volunteers for this project from
among the more proficient English
speakers. This would be an opportunity to be something other than
inmates in the eyes of the officers,
they could be professionals. I had
five students agree to participate.
They were not the original students
who had developed the earlier
training, so we were basically back
to the beginning. These students
met for four additional classes,
which allowed them to do the background research and review the
work of the earlier students. We
revised the content and divided the
responsibilities. Each student had
a part of the presentation: Francisco
would address the demographics of
the jail population, Abad would
briefly describe the history and culture of Latinos in America, I would
talk about language issues, Jaime
would give a glimpse into the
Spanish language, and Eutimio and
John would both cover the concrete
suggestions for the officers.
Rehearsal
I put the information on
PowerPoint transparencies in bullet
form, so the presentation would be
as professional as possible. In our
final meeting before the training,
we rehearsed with the transparencies. The students made additions
and changes and worked on their
transitions, and discourse connectors practiced putting transparencies on the overhead projector correctly and using pointers to indicate
place. The students rehearsed their
introductions, and gave each other
feedback. They tried to minimize
those gestures and dialectical features that marked them as inmates:
hitching up their jumpsuits, pos-
winter 2002
turing with their hands, using double negatives. They tried to identify
things “inmate-y” or “cholo.” Abad
took some books home, back to the
pod, to review the major events in
Latin American history.
On Monday, the day of the
training, we also had our regular
ESL class. The five presenters conducted a dress rehearsal with their
classmates. Each student was
applauded, and the class was focused and attentive. It was obvious
tell you that sometimes the officers
say, ‘You Mexicans.’ And we think
that is racial, and we are not all
Mexican.”
Abad presented next on history
and culture. “When Christopher
Columbus—have you heard of
him?—discovered the new world,
which is what we know now as the
Bahamas in 1492, he met the
Arawak people, and called them
Indians. There were many peoples
in this new world, the Toltec, the
“Don’t call us the Mexican mafia.
That’s racist, and I’m not
even from Mexico.”
that they had practiced over the
weekend. They were comfortable
with their transparencies, and as
the information was projected onto
the whiteboard at the front of the
room, the presenters used the
board to elaborate on the bulleted
points of the slides. The other students were dismissed, and the new
officers arrived at the classroom.
To our disappointment, there
were only three. John made a face
and held up three fingers. I whispered that a small group would
allow us to practice, and perfect the
presentation. We put our game
faces on. The students were beautiful, they were funny, engaging, natural teachers.
Francisco, aka Manuel, was
first. “63% of the Hispanics in this
facility are from Mexico. Next we
have the United States at 10%,
which includes Puerto Rico and
people who are citizens, and then
Colombia that has 5%, and
Republic Dominican 5%, and other
countries 10%. So, you can see, not
everyone is Mexican. And I want to
Olmec, the Aztec in Mexico, and the
great Incan civilization in Peru.”
He touched on the high points in
Latin American history, including
the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in
which Mexico lost half its national
territory to the United States. He
went on to describe Latino culture,
addressing machismo, family, and
religion, among other things.
“And, you know, people who came
here recently from another country,
their attitude toward authority is,
well, that authority is corrupt. If
you are drunk and driving and the
police stop you, well, you give them
money and they let you go. We call
that the bite.” He talked about
variations in the Spanish language:
“In Mexico, if you say ‘soy un
cabrón,’ you are saying you are ‘the
man.’ In Cuba, that means like
someone is trippin’ with your wife.”
The officers laughed.
Continued on page 17
15
Field Notes
State of the State—Behind Bars: ABE for
the Incarcerated
By Bob Bickerton and Jane Brown
T
he room is bright. Student
art and projects cover the
walls. Sets of colorful books fill
the bookshelves. The video screen
is frozen on what appears to be an
acrimonious picture—a woman
pointing at one of a group of men
seated at a table. A whiteboard
shows two statements. The students
are sitting around four tables, and
each group is engaged in intense
discussion facilitated by a group
leader and documented by two student note-takers.
This class shares similarities
with many ABE classes in Massachusetts. But look around carefully
and you will notice a few unusual
features. The students are uniformly neat. Some wear orange costumes; some wear gray, and another
wears green. The teacher wears a
beeper. You may occasionally see a
blue uniformed officer pass by the
window.
You are observing a class in one
of the 13 Massachusetts Department of Education (MDOE) funded
ABE instructional programs for the
incarcerated. Adult and Community
Learning Services (ACLS) of the
MDOE is committed to its belief in
the value of correctional educational programs. ACLS funds its ABE
instructional programs for the
incarcerated an approximate
$1,300,000 per year. By using both
federal and state funding, Massachusetts is able to exceed the 10
percent federal ceiling on this category of funding; in fact, the $1.3
million represents 13.5 percent of
our federal ABE allocation.
16
ACLS believes that large numbers of inmates have had scant
opportunity to build a useful and
law-abiding life: At least half of the
incarcerated population does not
have the basic skills that would
make this possible.
Facts About Prisoners and
Education
Some of the ways in which educational standards of those entering
correctional facilities compare with
educational standards of the general population are as follows:
The National Institute for
Literacy states that 70 percent of
prisoners are not adequately
equipped to perform tasks like
writing a letter, explaining an error
on a credit card bill, or understanding a bus schedule.
It also states that approximately
half of all prisoners have not earned
a high school diploma or a GED
compared with 24 percent of the
general population.
In October 2000, the Massachusetts Coalition for Adult
Education stated that among the
Massachusetts 22,000 incarcerated
adults and youth, 68 percent demonstrated reading skills below an
eighth grade level.
Adult Basic Education
Decreases Recidivism
Based on these statistics,
MDOE holds ABE classes in correctional facilities in the belief that
those who participate in educational programs while in prison are less
likely to become repeat offenders.
This belief is supported by the
following recent surveys:
The MassINC report “From
Cell to Street: A Plan to Supervise
Inmates after Release” (January
2002) states in its Executive
Summary: “Although many rehabilitative efforts have proved disappointing in their lasting efforts, literacy programs are the key exception.” (p. 6)
The Office of Correctional
Education/Correctional Education
Association (OCE/CEA) carried out
a Three State Recidivism Study
(September 2001) in Maryland,
Minnesota, and Ohio. More than
3,000 inmates released from prisons in 1997 and 1998 are reported
in this longitudinal study. The
release cohort was followed for a
three-year period following release
from incarceration. This study
shows that a large percentage of exinmates will return to prison, but
there is one way in which that figure
can be reduced: education while
inside. Of those who take part in
education programs, 43.5 percent
will return to prison; of those who
do not receive education, 56.7 percent will return.
Bob Bickerton is the director of Adult
and Community Learning Services at
the Massachusetts Department of
Education. He can be reached at
<rbickerton@doe.mass.edu>.
Jane Brown is the program liaison for
corrections in Adult and Community
Learning Service at the Department of
Education. She can be reached at
<jbrown@doe.mass.edu>.
winter 2002
Field Notes
Behind Bars...
Continued from page 15
Use Our Names, Please
The presentation concluded
with Eutimio and John suggesting
“do’s” and “don’ts.” “Don’t call us
the Mexican mafia. That’s racist,
and I’m not even from Mexico. Use
our names, please. Don’t disrespect
our religion. We have religious figures, and also the Bible is very
important to us. Officers when they
shake us down, they just throw the
Bible on the bed or the floor. We’re
in here, but we’re human beings,
too.” Eutimio suggested the officers
ask the inmates about their culture
or language. “These are some suggestions so maybe you can do your
job more easy, and we can get along
better.”
Officers’ Reactions,
Students’ Reactions
The officers said that the training was useful, and left for their
next session. After they left the
students were pleased with how
things went. John said: “You know,
Miss Kristy, I thought with only
three of them, it was a joke, but they
listened to us and showed respect.
It was good.”
The audience was small, but the
effect on the students was great. It
was important enough that
Francisco wanted to use his real
name, Jaime practiced over and
over in his pod, and Abad read
additional history. Eutimio said to
me afterwards: “You didn’t think
we could do so good, did you?” I
believed they could do it all along,
but maybe they weren’t so sure. For
a short time, they were in control
and they showed to the few officers,
to me, and to themselves just what
they could do.
This kind of project is effective
for language learners on a variety of
levels. First, they are identifying
issues of importance in their lives
and participating in addressing
these issues. Second, the learners
are learning how to navigate a system in their new country; in this
case, the inmates were learning
how to effect change in the correctional environment. Third, learners are using language in purposeful ways: to acquire and present
information, to educate, and to
persuade. A project that engages
learners in creating change in their
everyday lives can also create power.
I will always remember the image of
a Latino teacher in an orange jumpsuit and flip-flops, in front of uniformed students with black boots
and badges, saying, “Me llamo
Francisco Martinez, y yo soy de
Mexico.”
Kristin Sherman is an instructor in
adult ESL at Central Piedmont
Community College in Charlotte, NC.
She has taught ESL at the Mecklenburg
County Jail for five years. She can be
reached at <kristin.sherman@cpcc.
edu>
Prison Voices Program: Voices from Inside
Prison Voices is a community outreach program that began as an outgrowth of the Bay State
Correctional Center (BSCC) community services program at Norfolk, Massachusetts. The program
allows for carefully screened prisoners to meet with small groups of students or members of the community such as high school students, college students, or other interested members of the community.
The prisoners speak candidly about their lives, the events that led them to prisons, and what the
prison experience has been like for them. This program provides community members with insight
into the prison system and other criminal justice issues by providing an alternative information
resource. It allows prisoners an opportunity to provide a service to the community while completing
the remainder of their sentence. Topics include prison life, peer pressure, substance abuse, education, and other issues.
For more information about the Prison Voices program write to Derek Estler or Jaileen Correira at Bay
State Correctional Center, PO Box 73, Norfolk, MA 02056, or call them at 508-668-1687, ext 211.
winter 2002
17
Field Notes
NELRC Notes: Education for Community
Participation
By Andy Nash
O
ne of the primary purposes,
historically, of adult education has been to prepare people for participation in a democracy. Whether through civics lessons
for immigrants seeking citizenship, or reading and writing for
emancipated slaves who faced literacy requirements erected to keep
them from voting, education has
provided access to civic involvement and decision-making. With
today’s increasing focus on
employment-driven services, however, attention to education for
community participation has
dwindled.
The New England Literacy
Resource Center (NELRC) has
been working to revitalize this
mission ever since 1996, when it
launched the Voter Education,
Registration and Action (VERA)
Project, a non-partisan effort to
build the capacity of adult literacy
teachers and students to take
informed action about community
issues. Prompted by the upcoming
presidential elections, NELRC disseminated educational materials
that helped adults make more
informed decisions when voting,
understand the structure of government, and address the roles and
responsibilities of citizens.
In subsequent years, we at
NELRC have built on this successful work by exploring opportunities
for participation in the civic life of
our communities between elections.
Our work is rooted in the belief
that the adults we work with have
valuable insights, talents, and
energy to contribute to community
efforts, and have a high stake in
addressing the problems and policies that affect their lives. We have
sponsored projects that help adults
develop research, interviewing,
advocacy, critical thinking, and
public speaking skills as they analyze and express their views about
community concerns. Most of the
In the coming year, NELRC will
continue to be responsive to requests
from the field and will continue to
develop innovative projects that
enhance the ability of people to understand and participate in civic activities.
We welcome your ideas in this regard.
18
classroom projects have involved
community service, including
fundraising for fire victims, volunteering at a soup kitchen, hosting a
blood drive for the Latino community, and creating resource materials for peers. Students have also
written advocacy letters, spoken
before the city council, and organized their neighbors to demand
improved services.
In 1999, NELRC published the
Civic Participation and Community
Action Sourcebook (available at
<http://literacytech.worlded.org/
docs/vera/index1.htm>) for adult
educators, and continues to offer
staff and resource development
support to the field. The NELRC’s
most recent work includes:
◆ Technical assistance with programs that are developing
EL/Civics curriculum
◆ Workshops on civics-related
topics such as Integrating EFF
and EL/Civics or Teaching about
the State Budget and Taxes
◆ Ongoing resource development, such as the online Civic
Participation and Citizenship
collection located at
<www.nelrc.org/cpcc/index.
htm>or a video guide for the
American Friends Service
Committee’s soon-to-bereleased Echando Raíces/ Taking
Root video about the struggles
of immigrants to settle in three
U.S. communities.
Andy Nash provides professional
development and coordinates civics
projects through the NELRC. She can
be reached at <anash@worlded.org>.
winter 2002
Field Notes
Department of Corrections in
Massachusetts—An Overview
By Larry Pollard
T
he Massachusetts
Department of Correction
(MDOC) is a state agency that
is part of the Executive Office of
Public Safety. There are 17 correctional facilities administered by
MDOC. On July 1, 2001 there were
10,095 criminally sentenced men
and women in the custody of the
MDOC. Within the correctional
facilities there are many worthwhile
programs designed to assist offenders to make a smooth reentry into
the community upon their release.
Substance Abuse Counseling, HIV
Prevention, Chaplaincy Services,
Community Volunteers, Parenting
Education, and Youth Outreach are
just some of the many programs
that are offered at the state correctional facilities. Among the most
important of these are the academic
and vocational programs. Through
the efforts of adult educators in the
correctional facilities, many exoffenders have been able to
improve the quality of their lives by
becoming more active and contributing members of their communities, churches, families, and
places of employment.
The Education Division within
the DOC is responsible for administering all of the correctional education programs. All teachers are
licensed by the state of
Massachusetts and have a minimum
of 10 years teaching experience.
The mission of the Education
Division is to provide incarcerated
men and women with the opportunity to acquire and or enhance their
academic/vocational capabilities so
that they might reintegrate to their
winter 2002
community with the least amount of
difficulty and become a productive
member of their community. It is
also a goal of the education programs to decrease the recidivism
rate in Massachusetts. Various
studies conducted by the Correctional Education Association have
shown that inmates who attend
education programs while incarcerated have a lower recidivism rate
than inmates who chose not to.
There are many vocational and
education programs available to the
incarcerated men and women in the
MDOC facilities. The vocational
programs available at the institution schools include barbering, culinary arts, welding, building trades,
horticulture, Braille transcription,
computer repair, and Microsoft
Office User Specialist (MOUS)
preparation classes. Many of these
training programs lead to acquisi tion of a state and/or federal certi-
fication or license. Academic classes include ABE, PRE ASE, ASE,
ESOL, and life skills. The DOC is
also an approved GED Test Center
and in March of 2002 the ten thousandth (10,000) GED recipient was
recognized at a ceremony held at
MCI Framingham. The DOC test
center averages 700 examinees each
calendar year. The exam is administered at each correctional facility
throughout the school year at no
cost to the inmates.
Unfortunately due to the serious budget crisis experienced by
the Commonwealth during this past
fiscal year, some education staff
members were laid off. In spite of
the layoffs, educational services
continue to be provided at all the
major correctional facilities.
Everyone at the Department of
Correction’s Education Division is
hopeful that many of these staff
members will be returned to their
instructional positions once the
state’s economic situation
improves.
If you would like more information about the Massachusetts
Department of Correction, you may
visit their web site at <www.state.
ma.us/doc>.
Larry Pollard is the ABE director and
GED chief examiner for the
Massachusetts Department of Correction. He can be reached at <lap7374@
yahoo.com>.
19
Field Notes
The Right Thing
By Maurice Penn
A
s an educator who has
taught, tutored, and mentored convicted felons on passing
their GED, I have thought a great
deal about education within prisons. I have dealt with the emotions of those who have failed the
GED test—some by the narrowest
margin, others, not even close. To
me, the real issue is not about education in prisons but what we
expect as a society from our correctional facilities and the human
beings that are incarcerated within
them. No matter what accusation
or conviction, no matter if the
inmate was falsely accused or actually committed a crime, he or she
is still a human being. Human
beings have human emotions. So
even in the dankest of prisons, you
will have people in search of their
humanity, their dignity, and even
hopes for a better day.
Taxing Inmates
There have been recent efforts
in Massachusetts to tax inmates for
their services while locked up. But
inmates have no money. All inmate
money comes from the outside. It
comes from us—those who are not
locked up—so actually it’s a back
door tax on people who care about
our fellow human beings who hap-
pen to be incarcerated. Instead of
taxing inmates, we need to give
inmates the opportunity to think
and use their brains in classes
while they are locked up. Taking
away cigarettes, TV, and weight
rooms, and taxing inmates for
services are not efforts that promote rehabilitation or reform for
prisoners.
negative energy will captivate
inmates and teach them to become
better criminals! Because of this, I
think education in prisons should
be mandatory, even for lifers.
Not counting the few who are
framed, most inmates find them selves convicted of an act that they
actually did, so they will accept this
time of penance; in their hearts
Taking away cigarettes, TV, and
weight rooms, and taxing inmates for
services are not efforts that promote
rehabilitation or reform for prisoners.
With mandatory sentences,
cuts in education programs, and
stricter enforcement, we are faced
with the issue of the purpose of
prison: for rehabilitation and
reform or for punishment.
Can a person learn while incarcerated? Damn right they can and
do. The big question is: What are
they learning and who is doing the
teaching? If people are not taught
the right thing to do and know,
then the opposite will happen—
people with negative thoughts and
they have already convicted themselves. Educational programs help
prisoners to better think their way
through life rather than react their
way through; when they think their
way through they are in control, not
the Chief Officer, not the warden,
and not even the fellow inmates.
Maurice Penn is a career counselor/
job developer for an alternative high
school program at City Roots, Boston.
He can be reached at 617-635-4920.
The Massachusetts Adult Literacy Hotline
800-447-8844
20
The Hotline is a statewide information and referral
service. It serves adults who seek a basic education
program, volunteers who want to tutor, and agencies
seeking referrals for their clients.
winter 2002
Field Notes
Resources on Prisons
Web Sites
National Institute for Literacy Special Collections:
Correctional Education
<www.easternlincs.org/correctional_education/>
This site is a comprehensive collection of resources for
basic skills and literacy programs in correctional education. Through this single access point, instructors,
administrators, and adult learners can find activities
and links exclusively related to correctional education.
Those interested in correctional education can find
learning activities, share program administration techniques, join a discussion list, read news about the field,
and find links to key correctional education sites.
Corrections.com
<www.corrections.com/>
The Corrections Connection’s (Corrections.com) mission is to provide a comprehensive and unbiased
online community for professionals and businesses
working in the corrections industry and to “inform,
educate and assist” corrections practitioners by providing best practices, online resources, weekly news,
products and services, career opportunities, access to
post and review bids, partnership opportunities, innovative technologies and educational tools.
Film s— Documentaries
The following films are available for sale or rental, from
First Run/Icarus Films
32 Court Street, 21st floor
Brooklyn, NY
718-488-8900
Profits of Punishment
Directed by Catherine Scott
Produced by Pat Fiske & Paradigm Pictures, 2001
This film looks at prisons as a “new, powerful, recession-proof industry” and explores the relationship
between government and industry in the business of
incarceration.
Ghosts of Africa
Directed by Brad Lichtenstein
Produced by David Van Taylor and Brad Lichtenstein
Narrated by Susan Sarandon, 2001
Ghosts of Attica offers “the definitive account of
America’s most violent prison rebellion, its suppression, and the days of torture that ensued.”
High Risk Offender
A film by Barry Greenwald, 1998
“For ten months, filmmaker Barry Greenwald followed
the lives of seven men on the brink of freedom—six
deemed at high risk to reoffend—as they struggled to
remain on the right side of the law. This film offers a
look into the universe of the parole office, and the tenuous relationships between offenders and their parole
officers and therapists.”
Societies Under the Influence
A Film by German Gutierrez
A National Film Board of Canada Production, 1998
This film posits the argument that the “morally and
politically correct” drug war we read about in our newspapers everyday is a corrupt and pernicious front that
protects our judicial system, big business, organized
crime, and American foreign agendas.
Wearing the Green: Longtermers of the New York
State Prison System
A Video by Arthur MacCaig, 1994
Former Black Panther Eddie Ellis’s odyssey through
New York State’s prison system.
Continued on page 22
winter 2002
21
Field Notes
Resources on Prisons
Continued from page 21
Articles
“Participatory Literacy Education Behind Bars: AIDS
Opens the Door”
Kathy Boudin
Harvard Educational Review, Vol. 63, No 2., Summer,
1993, pp. 207–232
Kathy Boudin recounts her story as an inmate and literacy educator at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for
women.
Lessons in Life
The Arts in the Prison Education Curriculum
<www.a4offenders.org.uk/content/inc_arts/pages/
incart001.html>
This booklet demonstrates the range of ways in which
participation in arts activities can contribute to
enhanced educational achievement and particularly to
improved basic and key skills.It makes a strong statement about the importance of the arts and their position
as a valuable aspect of the prison education curriculum.
This publication can be viewed online using the links in
the Content section or downloaded as a PDF file.
Guides
“Educating Linguistically and Culturally Diverse
Students in Correctional Settings”
Virginia P. Collier and Wayne P. Thomas
<www.easternlincs.org/correctional_education/teacher
_tutor.html>
This article looks at considerations for developing
appropriate coursework for linguistically and culturally
diverse inmates in prisons, in students’ first language
as well as English.
Coming Home: A Resource Directory for ExOffenders Returning to Greater Boston Communities
Prisioners Re-entry Working Group
14 Beacon Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02108
617-523-0555
“Prison Literacy Programs”
Sandra Kerka
ERIC Digest No. 159, 1995
<www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed383859.html>
This article gives an overview of the contexts and constraints of prison education in the United States.
Journals/Magazines
Journal of Prisoners on Prison
Special Issue on Prison Education
<www.jpp.org/editorials/v4n1-cnts.html>
Curricula
Shakespeare in Jail
Martina Jackson
<www2.wgbh.org/mbcweis/ltc/alri/shakespeareone.
html>
“I have visited some of the best and the worst
prisons and have never seen signs of coddling,
but I have seen the terrible results of the boredom and frustration of empty hours and pointless existence."
-former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger
22
winter 2002
Field Notes
Mark Your Calendar
March 25–29, 2003
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), 37th
Annual Convention: Hearing Every Voice
Location: Baltimore, MD
Contact: TESOL, 703-836-0774
Web: <www.tesol/conv/t2003/pp/>
April 21–25, 2003
American Educational Research Association (AERA), Annual Meeting
Accountability for Educational Quality: Shared Responsibility
Location: Chicago, IL
Contact: John Goss, <jgoss@aera.net>
Web: <www.aera.net/meeting>
April 26–30, 2003
Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE), National
Conference: Take the Oregon Trail to Quality Programs
Location: Portland, OR
Contact: Anne Watts, 360-586-3525
Web: <www.ninestar.com/coabe>
June 5–8, 2003
Adult Education Research Conference, AERC 2003
Location: San Francisco, CA
Contact: Alicia Jalipa, 415-338-1686
Web: <clrml.sfsu.edu/aerc/home.html>
June 19–25, 2003
American Library Association (ALA), 127th Annual Conference
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Contact: ALA, 800-545-2433
Web: <www.ala.org/events/annual2003>
Open Issue
of Field Notes
The summer issue of Field
Notes is an open issue.
Here’s your chance to submit an article that’s not
limited by a specific topic.
Would you like to write
about a special project,
lesson, or material you’ve
been working on? Would
you like to review a book,
video, or web site you have
found particularly interesting? Would you like to publicize something your program has done, or highlight
accomplishments of your
students?
June 26–28, 2003
Voice for Adult Literacy United for Education (VALUE), Adult
Leadership Institute
Location: Tampa, FL
Contact: VALUE, 610-876-7625
Web: <www.valueusa.org>
Please email Lenore Balliro,
editor, at <lballiro@
worlded.org> or call her at
617-482-9485 with your
ideas.
Submission deadline is
April 1.
winter 2002
23
Field Notes
www.sabes.org/assessment
SABES has developed a new Web site to
help ABE programs deal with the
extensive new student assessment
requirements. The site—a virtual user’s
guide—provides all basic information,
policies, and links in one easy-to-use
location. Check it out!
Upcoming Issues
Upcoming
Issues
of Field Notes
of Field Notes
Spring 2003– ABE Licensure
Submissions
full
Spring,
2003–
ABE Licensure
Summer
2003–Day
Open Issue
Call
by Month.
Call bybyMarch
15Day
Submit
Month.
Submit by April 1
Summer, 2003– Issue Title
Questions?
Email Day
Lenore Balliro,
Call
by Month.
editor, at <lballiro@worlded.org>.
Submit by Month. Day
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Questions? Email Lenore Balliro,
Remember: You can get
editor, at <lballiro@worlded.org>
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